Construction Management faculty from California State University, Chico recently returned from the 44th Annual Associated Schools of Construction’s (ASC) International Conference held April 2-5 at Auburn University, Auburn, Ala., where they presented work in building information modeling (BIM).

Professor Denny Gier presented his research paper, “What Impact Does Using Building Information Modeling Have on Teaching Estimating to Construction Management Students?” Professor Willem Kymmell, who has been involved with BIM for the last five years, provided curriculum development tips.

BIM is a new technology for managing and visualizing construction projects. BIM uses 3D models of a construction project that are linked to a database containing information on the project, such as costs, quantities of material, schedules, and specifications. Gier’s research showed that applying BIM in an estimating course had a small positive effect on construction management students’ ability to learn estimating skills.

Professor Lori Brown, ASC Region 7 director and chair of the Department of Construction Management, who also attended the conference, said, “This paper presentation was very popular with fellow construction management (CM) faculty. They showed a great deal of interest in what our CM department is doing in the BIM arena.”

“The standing-room-only attendance at the break-out session was an indicator of the growing interest in BIM as a teaching tool for construction education topics,” said Gier.

Kymmell’s new book, “Building Information Modeling: Planning and Managing Construction Projects with 4D CAD and Simulations,” will be ground-breaking in this area, explained Gier. Professor Kymmell’s book will be published by McGraw-Hill Construction in April 2008.

ASC is a professional association of universities and construction education programs, with the mission of developing and advancing construction education. More than 230 faculty and staff from 30 U.S., British, Hong Kong, Pakistan and Ukrainian universities met to present refereed papers on their research work at the ASC conference.

Gier’s paper will be published in the “Proceedings of the 44th ASC International Conference.”